At one time, if and when someone wanted to gamble, they would save money, and make a once or twice a year pilgrimage to Las Vegas. That was at one time. The corporate world has changed all of that over the years with their money and their greed. People don't have to travel to Sin City anymore, with the expansion of gaming in almost every state, except maybe four. I'll include lottery as a form of gaming. Does the expansion of gaming benefit or hurt in the long run? Well, it brings money into the individual state. It does create jobs. I predicted several years ago, that the thinking of the corporate gaming world would be, " You don't have to come to me. Just wait. I'll be in your neighborhood soon. You won't have to fly to Las Vegas anymore." And they did build casinos in neighborhoods in other states. If a corporation didn't build a casino, they bought a race track, and named it a " racino." The horsemen had to get used to a new breed of people who knew or know nothing about the horse racing industry. The horsemen relied on corporations to give them a fair share of the gaming revenue to increase horse purses. Most racinos have given the horsemen a fair share. And purses have increased. I feel that's what is keeping horse racing alive in most states. I feel that more people should seriously consider buying race horses as an investment, and race them at racinos. A person doesn't have to buy a horse for hundreds and thousands of dollars. You could and should invest in a claiming horse, the blue collar performer in the racing world. A five thousand dollar horse at a track such as Charles Town which is in West Virginia, could race for a fifteen thousand dollar purse. When I can save enough money, and get a person or two who are risk takers, I'll be owning a horse.
The corporate world of gaming is more greedy than Wall Street. In Las Vegas, Harrah's owns just about one side of the strip, with the exception of Caesar's Palace, which is on the MGM side of the street. MGM sold the Mirage to the person who owned the Frontier. The Mirage is the David among the Goliaths. Corporations spread like Walmarts and payday loan places. But, did they spread out too much? Of course they did. The key to most failure from success is greed. The casinos busted too many people at one time. Add in the present economy on top of that, and corporate numbers go down. When numbers fall for the suits on top, your number of staff begin to fall as well. I feel that corporations now, have the attitude of be grateful you have a job. Work your eight hours, and keep your mouth shut.
People will always gamble. People who don't gamble will gamble on an occasion. A few would include the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, the World Cup or even the World Series. Gambling is a form of entertainment for most, but a nightmare for others. Sure, it started as innocent entertainment, until it escalated past that into a world of secrecy and compulsion. The compulsive gambler is like an odorless liquid. You don't know what it is. You could spot a drug addict or a hooker before you could spot a compulsive gambler. There would still be compulsive gamblers with out casinos. I feel that the numbers increased dramatically with the expansion of gaming. People seeking a life changing score. Would they stop gambling? The answer is no for the compulsive person. Most people don't understand problem gamblers. It isn't the amount of money being bet. It's about the action. It's all about having action. The amount of money lost is secondary to the compulsion. It's sad, because like any problem disease, it isn't the way to live.
So, what is the future of gaming? It will always be here, because people will always want to gamble. What did you gamble on first? Flipping baseball cards or pitching pennies?
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